Monthly Archives: October 2011

Petra Kvitova won the YEC in Istanbul to cap off a fine year and cement herself as the 2011 player of the year. Kvitova beat Victoria Azarenka in a gripping, momentum swinging match, 7-5 4-6 6-3. Things looked ominous early on for Azarenka as she was broken to ease in her first service game with…

The final at the YEC will be played between the two best players of the week as Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova won their semi-finals on Saturday. Petra Kvitova was first into the final with a 5-7 6-3 6-3 victory over Sam Stosur. I felt this match was on the cusps of being a very…

Agnieszka Radwanska was tumbled out of the YEC by Petra Kvitova after a 7-6 6-3 loss, but she can hold her head high after a terrific week in Istanbul. Radwanska gave everything and i’m disappointed she has been eliminated because her three matches were probably the most entertaining over the whole week. Radwanska looked to…

The final match of day 3 was by far the most dramatic off the tournament as Agnieszka Radwanska kept her hopes of qualifying for the Semis alive by saving 3 match points to beat Vera Zvonareva, 1-6 6-2 7-5. Zvonareva raced through the first set finishing right where she left off against Wozniacki with some…

Vera Zvonareva defeated Caroline Wozniacki, 6-2 4-6 6-3 on day 2 of the YEC in Istanbul. Zvonareva played a stunning first set, the best I had seen from her all year as she took the game to Wozniacki, stepped up the court and moved her opponent around using the court superbly. Her stats of 18…

Sam Stosur overturned a losing 9-0 head-to-head record to finally beat Maria Sharapova in an intense match, 6-1 7-5. The first set was closer than the scoreline suggested, but Stosur won the key points and played a solid set of tennis against a visibly rusty Sharapova. Sharapova raised her game in the second set, but…

Caroline Wozniacki beat her close friend Agnieszka Radwanska, 5-7 6-2 6-4 in a fascinating battle that lasted 2 hours and 39 minutes. Radwanska was by far the better player in the first set and seemed to have a clear game plan to attack the fragile Wozniacki forehand. She got the early break but lost it…

The season is drawing to a close and the draw is set for the penultimate tournament of the 2011 tennis season. In the red group, the world number one Caroline Wozniacki is joined by Petra Kvitova, Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanska. I think this will be the more competitive of the two groups. I believe…

Agnieszka Radwanska claimed the final spot for the YEC, which begin next week in Istanbul. Radwanska lost in the second round to Lucie Safarova, but Marion Bartoli who had to win the tournament in Moscow to qualify pulled out of her quarter-final match with Elena Vesnina. Moscow and Luxembourg have been littered with surprises and…

Svetlana Kuznetsova progressed into the second round of the Kremlin Cup with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Alize Cornet. Kuznetsova was patchy, but showed sparks of some good form. It was a nice match-up for Kuznetsova against a passive and ineffective opponent – Cornet hit just 4 winners in the whole match and was playing…